Daily Bread Archives

August 17, 2023August 18, 2023

Put All Things Under Christ

³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ~ Matthew 10:37

The concept of Christ being above every single thing in our lives is a difficult one to grasp when you really think about it. See, it’s not just the things of this world that have to be beneath Christ, but also our dearest loved ones. Why? Well, when you love your family more than you love Christ, then you’ll begin to not only overlook the sins of your family but fully accept and embrace them. We can see this throughout the Church today.

We don’t correct sin anymore; instead, we make excuses for sin to run rampant in those we love. When we do this, we put our family above Christ. And if we put our family above Christ, then we can’t actually pick up our cross and follow Him. We can’t abide in His love. Sin isn’t something that we can allow in our lives. We can’t let in even a grain of sin because sin’s one goal is to corrupt and destroy. It wants to rule your life. When you tolerate sin, you end up inviting more sin into your life.

So, when it comes to your family, don’t tolerate sin. Yes, love them. Yes, treat them with gentleness and kindness, but you don’t have to accept their sin. Place before God. Pray for them. Fast for them. Believe that God will intervene and show them the Truth. Spiritually fight for your family so that you won’t just save their soul but also your own.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Put All Under Christ.

Back to Spiritual Warfare?

Back to Daily Bread?

Focus On Your Purpose

⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And are not His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ~ Matthew 13:55

We’re each called to a specific purpose. Each and every one of us is called by God Himself to fulfill a specific job while on this earth. Here’s the thing, though, not everyone can see your potential. Not everyone can see what God can.

You may come from an insignificant family in an insignificant part of the world, but God uses insignificant people. Oftentimes, when we look at ourselves, we only see what the world tells us. Where we come from. What our parents have done. Our failures. Our shortcomings. Our mistakes. Our ignorance. This isn’t how God sees us.

No, we’re not perfect. Yes, we do make mistakes. These are impossible to avoid, but they don’t take away from who we are in Christ. It may seem like you have a lot going against you, but if God is for you, who can be against you? When your faith, hope, and trust are in God, then your past cannot hold you back. God will use every willing heart.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Focus On Your Purpose.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

Trust God In All Circumstances

²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ~ Genesis 39:21

Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Then once he began to make way as a slave in Potiphar’s house, Potiphar’s wife lied about him and had him thrown into prison. Joseph is one of the best examples of how up and down life can be. Some days, your life is going great, but other days the enemy is after you, and one thing goes bad after another. That’s how life goes. Life is messy. It has ups and downs. It has good days and bad days, but when you follow God and put your trust in Him, He gives you His favor and shows you steadfast love, just like Joseph.

Joseph was sold by his own brothers and ended up in prison, but he never let it keep him down. He remained faithful to the LORD. He remained encouraged by the LORD. Why? Most likely because of his dreams. He knew that he was called for greater things. He knew that the LORD wouldn’t abandon him because he knew God had called him for greater and better things. This is the same with us today. We are called by God Almighty. He has greater and better plans in store for us. It won’t always be easy, but when God is for you, who can be against you? Always remember God works all things out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Trust God In All Circumstances.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

Focus On The Truth

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.~ Philippians 4:8-9

The first thing Paul tells us to focus on is Truth. Why? Because if we focus on the Truth, then lies can’t confuse us or lead us astray. In fact, all of these are practical steps that Paul is lining out for us to follow in order to keep Jesus relevant and foremost in our lives. If we just focused on Truth, it would eliminate 95% of the foolishness that we watch on social media that is portrayed as Truth and honorable but is evil and deceitful.

What we focus on is what fills our minds, souls, and spirits. If we focus on the lies and deceit of the enemy, then we’ll end up just like Eve. The moment she stopped focusing on the Truth of God and started focusing on the deception of the enemy was the moment she allowed the enemy a foothold in her mind causing her to sin. This is why we have to focus on the Truth of God because it’s a guide to our lives. It’s a lamp onto our feet and a light onto our paths.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Focus On The Truth.

Back to Spiritual Warfare?

Back to Daily Bread?

Be Alert

³²But of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. ³³Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. ³⁴It is as when a man, sojourning in another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, to each one his work, commanded also the porter to watch. ³⁵Watch therefore: for ye know not when the lord of the house cometh, whether at even, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning; ³⁶lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. ³⁷And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. ~ Mark 13:32-37^KJV

It’s not enough to just Stay Awake; we need to stay awake and keep watch as well. Keep watch, with all diligence, over our hearts. Why? Because we live in a fallen and depraved world that grows more and more wicked and depraved each and every day, and we do not want to be swept up in their tide.

Neither do we know the day nor the hour when Jesus will break the eastern sky to come back to get us, and we need to be ready. Because even though these words were indeed spoken to the disciples, Jesus was speaking to all Christians. We are to stay awake and watch.

We are to guard your soul in such a way that it fosters a strong desire to know Jesus Christ. To have a real relationship with Him. To have a strong desire for the things of God. To stay awake and prepare for the Second Coming of Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Alert.

Back to Spiritual Slumber?

Back to Daily Bread?

Share The Gospel

¹⁴But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, ¹⁶to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life… ~ 2 Corinthians 2:14-16a

Not everyone is going to accept our message of life. Not everyone is going to accept or tolerate the pain of being cut in their souls when the spotlight of Jesus Christ shines its piercing light into the never before seen crevasses where the darkness hides.

But nonetheless, we are to let our light shine so that we can do as Jude instructed and snatch others out of the fire (Jude 23). But in today’s society, it’s backward. It’s hateful to want to share the Gospel with others. Why? Because the enemy knows that if we will remain quiet and not teach the Gospel, he will retain the power over more souls.

We’re called to evangelize the nations. We’re called to go throughout the entire world and share the Gospel of Jesus with as many people as possible. We’re called to plant seeds and water them. We are never called to be silent about our faith.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Share The Gospel.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Turn Back To God

19 Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the Lord? ~ Isaiah 42:19NASB

If you think about this statement by the LORD, it is a pretty frightening one. He is not talking about the blindness or the deafness of the heathen, or those who hate Him. No, God is talking about His own people, His own servants. The very ones who are supposed to be serving Him. The ones who should have a close relationship with Him. But instead of closeness we find distance. Instead of intimacy we find lukewarmness. Instead of affection and tenderness, we find separation and detachment.

Just because we claim to have a relationship with Almighty God does not mean we actually have one. So, don’t be lulled to sleep thinking you are all good, because you go to church, or that you serve on the church board, or in some church office capacity. God’s people –the ones who should know Him intimately and serve Him wholehearted– are the very ones who are trampling the blood of Jesus underfoot and making the name of the Holy One something common. That’s why God asks rebellious Israel the questions in Isaiah 1:5 “Why should you be beaten anymore?” “Why do you persist in rebellion?”

In other words, why are you bringing more punishment on yourself by persisting in your rebellion? He has redeemed you with His own blood. Turn back to God for He takes no pleasure in dealing out punishment. He would rather see you saved than punished. That’s why He made a way for us to be saved with His own death. It is not God’s will that anyone perish, but all come to repentance. But people refuse to draw close to God because they love the pleasures of the world more.

After considering the great price that was paid for our redemption, let us forsake evil and turn from lukewarmness to cling to God in pursuit of holiness, holding fast to our profession of faith and coming unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace. That is what Jesus offers and desires for us obtain. So, let us lay hold of grace and take serious our salvation so that we are not swept away with the wicked.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the grace that was lavished on us. Thank You for offering us salvation that with You we would never be able to attain. Help me to draw close to You forsaking all else and cleaving to You alone. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Back to Strongholds?

Back to Daily Bread?

The Power of the Tongue

²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. ~ Proverbs 18:21

The tongue has power. In fact, James, in his epistle, wrote, “the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things” (James 3:5). He claims that the tongue is set on fire by hell. It is the hardest of all things to control. He goes on to explain that mankind has tamed all sorts of animals, and birds, and reptiles, and sea creatures, but it is useless to try to tame the tongue. It just cannot be tamed because it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. We are blessing one moment, and the next, we are cursing and carrying on, and all with the same tongue.

Have you noticed, especially on social media, how some people can be so spiritual one moment but very worldly the next? They’ll say things like, this is the day that the LORD has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. Or if God is for me, who can be against me? Or God is fighting for me. Your house is about to be abundantly blessed. Can somebody help brag on Jesus? Or if it wasn’t for Jesus… They make a big ado about God and the things of God. I’m blessed going in and blessed coming out. Then to read their next post would make a sailor blush.

Then there are the others who post all the dirt they can dig up on somebody they just had a falling out with. They call them all kinds of blanky, blank names and say all manner of evil about them.

This is the deadly poison James is talking about. Running each other down and cussing and going on. Using the foulest, most offensive language, they can seem to find.

God is not pleased with this kind of talk, for this ought not to be. James asks:

¹¹ Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and saltwater? ¹²Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

James 3:11-12

Therefore, if we are going to please God, we had better begin to bridle our tongues; otherwise, God Himself will deal most severely with us. We cannot please our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ, acting like that. We must change our ways from unbridled evil to ways that are more pleasing to God.

Start today to put your tongue into check. When you find you’re running somebody down or ridiculing someone else, stop and change your negative words to positive words. Replace curses with blessings, and you please the LORD.

Heavenly Father, please help us to learn how to control our tongues so that we might not use the same tongue to bless and to curse. Help us to take note of when we are being negative and give us the ability to change it to positive words. Help us to take the power out of the tongue and place it in our own hands with Your help. Thank you, LORD, for it is in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Back to Strongholds?

Back to Daily Bread?

Evangelize The Nations

¹⁸ And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18 ^NLT

Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthian Church explaining that we aren’t to just abandon the world after we’ve been reconciled to God. Jesus told Peter after he fell and got back up to go help his brother. King Solomon tells us that iron sharpens iron. There is never a time when God wants us to leave people where we found them. There is never a time when God wants us to not share His Word with others.

We are His hands and feet on this earth. Whether or not people hear about the Gospel of Christ is up to us. God did His part. He came down to earth and paid the price for our salvation. It’s now on us to share the Gospel. It’s on us to witness to the nations, regardless of whether it makes us uncomfortable, puts our job in jeopardy, causes us to lose friends, etc. Imagine if every day we each set out to share the Gospel with just one person and actively prayed for the person we were witnessing to.

The early Church turned the world upside down with evangelism, prayer, and supplication. They fasted, taught the Gospel, sought the face of God, and willingly took beatings and oppression for the sake of the Gospel. They faced so many obstacles, yet the Word of God flourished wherever they went. Why? Because they understood that they were the body of Christ. They were the light of the world to the nations. To live is Christ, and die is gain.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Evangelize The Nations.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Be Primitive

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

The ancient world is considered to be primitive and stupid, yet each civilization talks about encounters with the gods. Throughout our own Bible, God came down a walked and talked with Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, etc. As time went on and man became more and more self-sufficient, God’s physical walks and talks with mankind has seemed to cease. We say that we’re more educated and evolved than our ancestors. That we’re better off than they were because of technology, medicine, etc. But are we truly better off?

We gained a lot in the 26 years I’ve been alive. We have phones that we video communicate with people all over the world. We can record ourselves saying something in our room, and it reaches millions of people around the world. We have men and women building AI technology so that cars can drive themselves. There’s been a large leap forward in technology, but there’s also been a large leap backward from God.

The more we, as mankind, become self-sufficient and un-needing of God, the more God willingly leaves us where we are. It’s not that the ancient world was more primitive and ignorant; it’s that the ancient world understood their need for God or some sort of God in their lives. They understood their own morality and their shortcomings, but today we aren’t satisfied with God showing us the way. Today, we want to be our own god. We want to be in complete control. Even in the Church, we don’t want to bow our knee to every single Scripture; it may blatantly say, “Do not do this,” but because we want to do that specific thing, we say that’s not what God really meant or completely call the Bible corrupted and changed throughout the years.

Whenever mankind believes they can be their own gods, is the moment that mankind begins its downhill spiral into self-destruction. Why? Because we’re flawed and make countless mistakes. Our bar of standards constantly changes depending on our mood for the day.

If you want to see God work in your life. If you want to hear God and have Him walk with you, you have to remove all self-sufficient ideas from you and fully live your life hanging on every word from the LORD. Then and only then will God begin to truly reveal Himself to you as He did to the ancient world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Primitive.

Back to Cleansing?

Back to Daily Bread?